Reykjavík Grapevine - 09.04.2010, Page 32

20
The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 04 — 2010
Dear Kimono,
I’ve been pondering our relation-
ship, as it seems to have taken a
childish turn recently. Names have
been called. Threats were possibly
made. But perhaps we were both rash
in our comments, such is the passion
we share.
I hoped to clear the air by at-
tending your album release concert.
Things have been going well for you
over the last few months haven´t
they? Your album "Easy music for
difficult people" (must not laugh.
Nmmmpfn) was voted one the best
albums of 2009 by a lot of people.
Worthy praise indeed!
Firstly, I commend you for your
choice of venue. The Icelandic Opera
House, with its faded grandeur, old
wooden seats and warm acoustics,
seemed suited to your brooding pres-
ence. And the fact they had a bell to
announce the start of the concert,
forcing the stragglers to stop gabbing
in the foyer, was a nice touch.
You started the gig differently
from the usual rock histrionics
with a string quartet playing a som-
bre piece before your own Alex and
Bloodgroup's Hallur twisted their
sound into something that sounded
like bloodthirsty aliens scuttling in
a blackened forest. This sci-fi noise
was complimented with four menac-
ing bars of red lights that surrounded
you on stage, like a barrier that would
blow your head off if you tried to walk
past it.
But we were there to see you rock,
Kimono, and you complied by shuf-
f ling on stage and launching into
Standing Wave, a slow death march
on drums with mournful vocals from
Alex. It all sounded clear and sharp,
but I felt you were hiding something
back from us. And of course you
were, weren´t you? You little tease.
You gave us a minute ś baited si-
lence while you adjusted strings and
knobs. And then you threw your-
selves into Animal from the current
album, and the effect was, to put it
mildly, unnerving. Listening to the
differences between the old and new
tracks was akin to trying neat vodka
for the first time after a lifetime on
diet coke. The sound of you work-
ing as a three-piece was pretty much
f lawless, and before our brains could
process this shift, you moved straight
into Karen and Kente, which ended
sounding like a herd of rampant
Mongol warriors. Mind you I did
have to have my eyes closed at this
moment as you did try your best to
induce epilepsy by beaming parts of
your light show directly into my eyes.
But this was a small irritation as you
stormed through the rest of the al-
bum.
And while all this was happening
you looked relaxed, almost playful.
Even Gylfi was regaling us with use-
less trivia, such as the first film ever
played at the venue was “Ben Hur”,
which I know will come in handy at
Pub quiz night at Grand Rokk. You
even invited your little friend Kari to
come on and play bass with you at the
end. Bless.
You ended the night with an en-
core including old favourites such
as Japanese Policeman, and a stand-
ing ovation. So Kimono, the night
belonged to you as heroes, but what
about us and the future? Oh, I know
it´ll probably never be the same as it
used to be, too much water under the
bridge and all that. But at least we´ll
have this night to think about while
we get on with the rest of our lives.
Yours faithfully,
Bobby
Music | Live Review Music | Live Review
A vague, wisplike smattering of peo-
ple were lounging around Batterýið
when I walked in, having drunkenly
decided that Sódóma’s opening act
for the night, Darke & Taylor, were a
waste of my time. With the first Bat-
teríið band yet to start, I had brief ly
entertained the notion of waiting at
Bakkus, but the awful racket of what-
ever crap they had booked for the eve-
ning drove me off.
I have to say I rather like Batteríið;
there’s something very pleasant
about how low the stage is, barely a
foot higher than the dance f loor, forc-
ing you to get close to the stage if you
wanted to see an act on a busy night.
Not a lot of bands in Iceland can fill a
venue, and anything to con the crowd
into coming closer to the stage seems
like a good thing to me.
Not that this was at all likely to hap-
pen during Tamarin/(Gunslinger)’s
set (Incidentally, what’s with that
fucking name? Just when I thought
stupid punctuation bullshit in band
names couldn’t piss me off more,
some wise-ass thinks of shoving pa-
rentheses and a slash in for no ap-
parent reason? What the fuck?). The
room remained only tentatively occu-
pied; in fact, some girls actually left.
The music was pretty good. They
opened with a fairly basic version of
the theme song from Escape From
New York, and the original stuff was
nice, too. Playing beat-shifting bully
rock that keeps things simple musi-
cally but playful rhythmically, they
have a remarkably dense and whole
sound for a trio, although like pretty
much every band in Reykjavík, they
could stand to take a few singing les-
sons, or just get a singer.
The emptying room made the
music all the more earnest and atmo-
spheric, with expensive lights toss-
ing wild shadows across the f loor as
a single raven-haired girl, probably
a performer’s girlfriend (usually the
drummer’s, in my experience), stood
alone in front of the stage taking pic-
tures with her cellphone, beautifully
decorated by the pulsating, spiralling
lights. “The epitome of why guys join
bands,” I scribbled nonsensically in
my notebook and wished I had mon-
ey for another drink.
The rest of the night was interest-
ing, I guess: Ólöf Arnalds was one of
the more awkward things I’ve ever
seen (one of her songs was from a
Diet Coke ad), but she carried it well,
and Weapons have branched into folk
territory with their new stuff, with
glorious results.
But I could not concentrate. The
image of that solitary girl watching
Tamarin/(Gunslinger) stayed with
me, and after Weapons’ set, I stum-
bled out into the night looking for ro-
mance, blowing the last of my spend-
ing money on a bag of dried fish in
a supermarket and eventually falling
asleep in a chair at Næsti Bar.
Music to
Watch Girls
By
Duplex #5
March 6th 2010
Batteríið
SindRi Eldon
JÚlÍuS SiGuRJÓnSSon
BoGi BJaRnaSon
BRynJaR SnæR
BoB ClunESS
æGiR BiRGiSSon
Mínus Return. again.
The bill tonight is an odd one. Mínus have
enlisted not a single metal or hardcore act
to support them, hoping rather to draw a
diverse crowd with the aid of rock duet
DLX/ATX and electro champion Biogen.
As I walk in the door, the soundtrack
is that of three AM at a Nasa filled with
sweaty, neon, glowstick-touting revel-
lers, all hopped up on goofballs. I assume
that the sounds are coming from a playl-
ist between bands setting up, but people
are watching the stage intently. Turns out
Biogen's set is in full effect, and it is him
jumping around on stage that the audi-
ence is focused on.
His music is downright insane. Pow-
erful and progressive stuff yes, but at a
far too early an hour. Better had he come
on after Mínus to lead the crowd danc-
ing deep into the drunken maw of the late
night.
King narcissist vs. the hardcore
hopefuls
Although Mínus should long since ago
have lost their status as kings of the local
metal and hardcore scene (via their lack
of quality output in recent years), it is via
the shortage of worthy successors that
the band somewhat triumphantly takes
the stage tonight in front of a crowd.
Mínus is a band in constant develop-
ment—or progression, as the members
would have it. What once was a part
of the birth of the metalcore genre fast
evolved into a groundbreaking noisecore
unit of untold progressive measure, only
to be replaced, first with a criminally
catchy rock incarnation, and ultimately
with a mere shadow of its former glory
through a record that aspired only to me-
diocrity.
With a fairly newfangled line-up, one
yet to prove itself on record, Mínus still
retain the extremely talented backbone
of string bender Bjarni and drum pound-
ing virtuoso Bjössi. After a long absence
from the stage, the band is debuting
brand new songwriting efforts tonight,
probably aiming to regain the critical ac-
claim they had until the creative flop of
their latest album, The Great Northern
Whale Kill.
King narcissist and raging front man
Krummi enters the stage with promises
of a career spanning set, and among the
hardcore hopefuls a spark of anticipation
ignites. Although not claiming encyclo-
paedic knowledge of Mínus song titles,
I find the track mix quite potent, yet, as
customary, a bit light on Jesus Christ
Bobby era material in favour of popular
classics off of the seminal Halldór Lax-
ness album, which garnered heavy air-
play in its heyday.
Stand and deliver
On stage, Mínus never fail to deliver. As
the first measures of musical mayhem
burst out of their Marshall stacks, the
crowd immediately erupts into an un-
hinged melee of a pit. As bodies pinball
off of each other and onto the stage,
Krummi goes through something of a
personal catharsis, where tortured wails
give way to clean singing and even a few
growls.
But, as the fresh songs are introduced
into set, the chaos subsides, perhaps due
to physical burn out, or because most of
the new material is somewhat ill suited for
spazzing the fuck out.

no chugga-chugga
The band’s promises of not including a
single chugga-chugga riff on their up-
coming album seem have been a song-
writing mantra. Some of the new reeks
of obnoxious pretence to the tune of a
miniature synthesizer, other tracks strike
dark ominous chords that grab desperate
hold of the listener, as yet others dwell on
tedious tribal drum patterns far too long.
Still, grating aural faux pas notwith-
standing, Mínus fucking explode. Bjössi
mounts his drum stool between songs,
egging the audience on with his head
in the rafters while Bjarni swings his axe
and Krummi goes all apoplectic with their
lanky young bass player getting his rocks
off to the tune of the very same musical
masterpieces that echoed off of the walls
of his teenage bedroom.
As the hour long plus set draws to
a dreaded close, the audience joins in
chorus of demand for more, and true to
form, Mínus oblige. First with their big-
gest hit to date, The Long Face, and then
showstopper Kolkrabbinn. That done,
hardcore kids and curious hipsters alike
walked away all sweaty and content.
Missed that awesome Mínus show at
Batteríið? Not to worry - they're throw-
ing another bash at Sódóma on Satur-
day April 10th, backed by the legendary
Godkrist. It's a must-see!
Mínus
Biogen
dlX/aTX
Batteríið
March 19th 2010
Kimono
icelandic opera house
March 11th 2010
Music | Live Review
Excellent Music For Clearly
Enthralled People
You might not have heard, but the awesome Batterí venue (which is commended in at least one of the below reviews) burned to the ground ear-
lier this month. Mínus even lost a lot of their gear in the fire, which sucks HARD! On behalf of Reykjavík's community of music- lovers, Grapevine
would like to say: Miss U, Batterí. We're sad to see you go.